The big idea

She picked up the tricks quickly and then decided to share it with other kitchen-wary women. The cookery classes that began in 1966 have since stopped, but these have been suitably replaced with a barrage of cookbooks. Dalal just released Roz Ka Khazana last month at Fountainhead, and she is almost ready with her next book on sweets. quot;Earlier, it used to take us nearly one-and-a-half years to bring out a book. Now it takes only three months.quot;

Though this implies a whole lot of cooking in office, Dalal is still in-charge of her kitchen at home. quot;Cooking is a different science today. There are a lot of shortcuts and if you use these the thought of entering a kitchen won8217;t scare you so much.quot;

Her children love Mexican and Italian mouth-waterers, so that is what she rustles up for their parties. But when it comes to cooking for herself, she falls back on good old Gujarati fare and khichdi! quot;I am 63, so I have to look after my health. I don8217;t eat out much and I make it a point to go for a walk regularly.quot; She is also planning to start teaching again. Not in cosy groups at home but at the spanking new Tarla Dalal Cooking School that is to come up soon.